Rest for the Weary

One day I was watching a farmer plowing his field with a team of oxen.

I was somewhat amazed for one was a huge ox and the other a tiny bullock.

The big ox towered over the little bullock who was sharing the work with him.

It was amazing to see the farmer trying to plow with two such unequal animals in the yoke.

The man I was with commented that the large ox was pulling all the weight. The little bullock is being broken into the yoke but he is not actually pulling any weight.

In the normal yoke, the load is equally distributed between the two that are yoked together, but when we are yoked with Jesus, He bears the load, and we who are yoked with Him, sharing in the joy and accomplishment of the labor without the burden of the yoke.

The tragedy is that some of us have never been broken into the yoke.

Many of us have no right to call ourselves disciples, when we have heard Christ’s words, “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.

We respond and come to Him, but when He prepares to slip a yoke around our necks to join us to Himself, we resist, we fight, we back off. We refuse to be brought under His authority. But until we become yoked to Him, we cannot truly be disciples of Him.

“Take My yoke upon you”, means learn of Me, submit to My Word, acknowledge the authority of who I am. When we do that, and only when we do that, will we find rest for our souls.

Are you restless, often distraught and discouraged? Perhaps on the edge of despair? Put your shoulder into the yoke so that He might bear the burden. Learn to walk yoked to Jesus and you will find rest for your soul. This is His promise.